Prep School News

News title		Date
Show Jumping Success	Congratulations to our own Sutton Valence Show Jumping team who had a very successful time at the recent Kent Inter Schools Show Jumping Competition; we came away with a host of prizes. The standard...	13 05 2013
A Grand Day Out	Over 350 grandparents were welcomed over two days this week at our Prep and Senior School. Proud pupils from all year groups, Kindergarten through to Year 6 provided the personal tours of the School f...	10 05 2013
Kindergarten's Big Toddle	Children from our Kindergarten together with their teachers, parents and younger siblings all took park in The Big Toddle, raising money for Barnados. Dressed as a variety of minibeasts, everyone tod...	03 05 2013
Around the World with Mike Perham	Last week we were delighted to welcome Mike Perham to our School to talk to the children in Years 3 to 6 and encourage them to 'Live the Dream'.  In 2007, at the age of 14 Mike became the younge...	24 04 2013
Healthy Schools Launch Day	Here at the Prep School, we firmly believe in arming the children with the life skills that will enable them to grow up to confident, happy and healthy adults. Promoting healthy living is key in all...	24 04 2013
Easter Garden at Westminster Abbey	On Saturday 30th March (Holy Saturday) the Easter Garden, which was created by Year 6 pupils, led by Mrs Betts, Head of Art and Design Technology was installed at Westminster Abbey. Viewed for the fir...	08 04 2013
'The Worst Princess'	This week the whole of our Pre-Prep and parents have been treated to a fabulous performance of 'The Worst Princess' in the Bates Hall by Year 1. All the children gave a very confident and entertainin...	21 03 2013
Primary Schools' Hockey Festival	On Friday 8th March the Primary Schools' Hockey Festival took place at our Prep School; we welcomed eight Primary Schools from the surrounding area for an afternoon of expert coaching and a fun tourna...	11 03 2013
Primary Schools' Singing Day	The sun shone and there was a feeling of Spring in the air. It was a beautiful day to welcome five local Primary Schools for an afternoon of song. Children from Boughton Monchelsea, Madginford, Headc...	08 03 2013
Junior Cross Country Success	On a cold and drizzly day at the end of February, 24 boys and girls from Years 3 and 4 took part in the first Junior Cross Country Competition at Hilden Grange School. Year 3 were the first to compet...	06 03 2013
Shiver me Timbers!	The whole School, including parents, younger siblings and even a few grandparents have been treated to a number of fabulous performances of 'Treasure Island' from our Year 3 and 4 children. Full of en...	20 02 2013
'Yee Ha' Year 5!	Year 5 are studying 'Holes' by Louis Sachar this term in their English lessons. The book is set in Texas and to get them in the mood, the teachers decided to invite into school a Texas expert to...	04 02 2013
Fledgling Cup Success for U9s	Congratulations to our U9s who competed in the annual rugby tournament held at Junior King's Canterbury this weekend.  Our boys won all three matches to take them into the final; the ha...	04 02 2013
Rock Up In Red!	Last Friday teachers and pupils at our Prep School 'Rocked Up In Red' to help raise money for the British Heart Foundation (BHF). For a small donation, every pupil could choose to wear as mu...	28 01 2013
A Warm Welcome	We would like to welcome our two GAP students from Sydney, Australia to our Prep School. Hamish Birt and Georgia Hargreaves, joined us at the beginning of the term and have both settled in v...	24 01 2013
A Different School Choir!	A group of 35 mums from across both our Senior and our Prep School have formed a very unique school choir, 'Mumma Mia'. They have been diligently rehearsing every week and proudly performed in fr...	18 12 2012
Operation Christmas Child	Just under 200 decorated shoe boxes, filled with presents for boys and girls this Christmas were donated from the Prep School as part of the Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child charity initiat...	10 12 2012
A Festive Fair!	On Saturday we held our biggest and best Christmas Fair to date. The Bates Hall was filled with a wide range of festive stalls, everything you needed to start your Christmas shopping off on the r...	06 12 2012
Reception Year's Nativity	We were delighted to welcome the children from Sutton Valence Pre-School to St Michael's Church on Wednesday to watch the whole of our Reception Year's Nativity dress rehearsal. Many of the accompanyi...	06 12 2012
Sporting Success	The U8A hockey team cemented their unbeaten season last week, with a 4-2 win over Marlborough House. The U10 and U11 girls have finished their hockey season in style with a clean sweep against&nb...	03 12 2012
'We Will Remember Them'	On Friday 9th November, pupils and teachers gathered on the Head's lawn for their own act of remembrance around a host of poppies made by the children. The Last Post was played by Laura Horl...	14 11 2012
Hockey Tournament Success	Our U10A team had a superb start back to hockey this half term, taking the winners' medals home from the Holmewood House Tournament on Wednesday. After a slow start, drawing against Ardingly 1 -1...	12 11 2012
The Orchard Run	The annual Orchard Run took place today and it was a thoroughly successful event involving more then 300 children and eight primary schools. The route of the course had to be altered a little due to s...	12 11 2012
Autumn Concert	At the end of October we were treated to a wonderful evening of music at our Autumn Concert in the Bates Hall; very well done to all our performers and many thanks to Mrs Heaton, our Head of Music, an...	09 11 2012
Fabulous 11+ and Scholarship Results!	Many congratulations to our Year 6 children for an outstanding set of results so far this year. We did exceptionally well in the 11+, (27 out of 31 passed) and several have scores likely to be high en...	23 10 2012
Outstanding Prep Performance	On Thursday our Year 5 and 6 children took part in a workshop run by Shakespeare 4 Kidz. Two trained actors worked with the children to put together a modern take on Macbeth. They all took part in gro...	18 10 2012
U11 Hockey Tournament	Twelve schools competed in the annual SVPS U11 Hockey tournament. Fortunately, we were blessed with fantastic weather and a super standard of hockey from all teams. Our first match was against Holmewo...	15 10 2012
Dahlicious Dress-up Day	On Friday 28th September teachers and pupils in Years 1 to 6 across the Prep School all enjoyed the opportunity to dress up as their favourite Roald Dahl character to raise money for Roald Dahl’...	01 10 2012
Harvest Festival	Pre-Prep’s Harvest Festival started with a beautiful service led by Father Paul at St Michael’s Church, Chart Sutton.  During the service our Pre-Prep choir sung some harvest songs, w...	28 09 2012
Battle of Britain Memorial Service	Malcolm Gough, Head was very proud to welcome back to Sutton Valence Prep the Headcorn Branch of the Royal Air Force Association, together with the Mayor of Maidstone and other dignitaries.  They...	14 09 2012
Prep Sports Day	Our annual Sports Day in this Olympic year saw many records broken and some great performances from all our pupils in the Prep. The sun was shining on the Bannister Athletics track at our Senior Schoo...	04 07 2012
Mumma Mia!	Mumma Mia gave their debut performance today at the Prep School in the Bates Hall. The newly formed choir, made up from more than 25 mothers of pupils from the School sang three songs, including Ade...	29 06 2012
Up, Up and Away!	As part of our School’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, pupils and staff released almost 500 specially sourced, bio-degradable red, white and blue balloons into the sky. Each special balloon ha...	28 06 2012
Pre-Prep Prize Giving	The School’s Pre-Prep Prize Giving took place yesterday (Wednesday 19th June) in the Bates Hall. Pupils from Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 classes together with teachers and parents celebrated &n...	20 06 2012
Annual Poetry Competition	We welcomed the poet Mr James Carter to our School at the end of half term, to judge our annual Poetry Competition in the Bates Hall. Parents were invited to watch as pupils from Years 1 - 6 took cent...	11 06 2012
Jubilee Celebrations	The whole school celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee together with a traditional street party style lunch outside. Proudly wearing their own crowns and sitting underneath rows and rows of bun...	11 06 2012
Forest School Opening	We declare our Forest School programme officially open! As an innovative educational approach to outdoor play and learning, the philosophy behind a Forest School is to encourage and inspire individu...	30 05 2012
Prep School success at Interschools Showjumping	Congratulations to the Sutton Valence Showjumping B Team who came sixth in an Interschools Showjumping event during the holidays.  William Fowler and Timmy Bentley (both Year 3) and Timothy Bra...	27 04 2012
Sport Relief at Sutton Valence Prep	Pupils and teachers joined together today to hold their own Sport Relief day at the School, with all proceeds raised from the day’s activities going to the Sport Relief charity. Children were al...	28 03 2012
New Prep School Head is appointed	Sutton Valence Preparatory School is delighted to announce today, Thursday 23rd February 2012, that Malcolm Gough has been appointed as Head from September 2012.Mr Gough, who was born in Zimbabwe, att...	23 02 2012
Spiders, snakes and creepy-crawlies!	Pupils from Years 1 to 6 have enjoyed the experience of being a Rainforest Adventurer this week as ZooLab came to visit the School. During special workshops in the science labs the pupils have come fa...	23 02 2012
'Pinocchio' strings success together!	At the end of last half term, Years 3 and 4 put on two spectacular performances of Pinocchio in the Bates Hall.  In the afternoon of Tuesday 7th February, the cast had the chance to hone their ac...	21 02 2012
'Help for Heroes' Charity Day	Pupils at the Prep School were asked to dress up today as a real life hero as part of our Help for Heroes Charity Day. All the children (and staff too!) made a great effort with their costumes. There...	10 02 2012
Singing in the Snow!	Pupils from the choir at Sutton Valence Preparatory School near Maidstone gave a delightful performance to their youngest audience to date when they visited the Sutton Valence Pre-School. Over 25 memb...	08 02 2012
Scholarship success!	Congratulations to our pupils who performed extremely well in the recent Senior School scholarship assessments.  Twelve awards were offered: three Continuation Scholarships; two Sports Scholarshi...	22 11 2011
The Orchard Run	On a foggy November day last week, 300 children from local primary schools converged on the Preparatory School to compete in the inaugural Orchard Run cross country event. Hollingbourne, Brunswick Ho...	18 11 2011
"We will remember them"	Services were held at Sutton Valence School on Friday 11th November to remember and honour those who had fallen in two World Wars and in more recent conflicts. At the Preparatory School, pupils gather...	14 11 2011
Year 4 pupil wins U16 'Times' art competition	Henry Hankin, Year 4, has always loved art and all aspects of drawing. During half term he entered a competition in The Times (for Under 16s!) to draw an imaginary comic superhero.  In a twist on...	07 11 2011
Pre-Prep Harvest celebrations	Harvest Festival at the Prep School was a fun-filled day starting with a church service led by the Chaplain, Father Paul. There was beautiful singing from the Pre Prep choir and the pupils brought bas...	07 11 2011
Year 1 visit an Enchanted Forest	On Wednesday 12th October Year 1 went on their outing to the Enchanted Forest at Groombridge Place.   We walked alongside a magical stream with trees lining the paths.  The children dis...	14 10 2011
Boys beat the girls in the Kent 11+ test	Year 6 pupils at the Preparatory School are celebrating their best ever results in the Kent 11+ test.  46% of the year group passed (the Kent average is 25%), with an average mark of 401; 11% bet...	12 10 2011
Parents go back to School	Parents of children in Reception at the Prep School came in to School on Friday morning for a workshop on how to read to with their child. Designed for two to three weeks into the first term when chil...	26 09 2011
Head speaks of the independent school DNA	Fears over the instability and falling standards of state education were expressed by the Head, Richard Johnson, at Speech Day.With the media reporting regularly on fluctuating plans, budgetary cuts a...	15 07 2011
Year 6 have fun and games with Sutton Valence CCF	When Sutton Valence Preparatory School arrived for their taster afternoon at the Senior School the NCOs were	27 05 2011
Prep School French Trip	Last week Year 6 pupils took part in an exciting trip to France which offered the children an enjoyable experience of the country and the French culture, as well as a number of opportunities to try ou...	04 05 2011
Right Royal day at Prep School	The Prep School held their own special celebration to mark last week’s Royal Wedding between HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton.	03 05 2011
Prep School reflects on the Japanese earthquake	Children from Years 3-6 have been writing poetry, letters and prayers for children affected by the Tohoku earthquake.  Their messages of support have been sent to the Japan Society of London for...	01 04 2011
WBD Newspaper	The Prep School took part in World Book Day by inviting Mrs Charlotte Rawstorne, a journalist with the Daily Mail, into school to run ‘cub reporter’ workshops with Years 3-6. She delivered...	16 03 2011
Author Ann speaks to Prep School	Children’s author Ann Bryant enthralled the Prep School pupils when she spoke to them about her life as a writer – and introduced them to some of her popular characters.Ann, who led an all...	26 01 2011
Charitable start to 2011	Pupils at the Preparatory School have started the New Year by presenting almost £1500 to charity.An own-clothes day, combined with fund-raising stalls, at the end of last term raised £712...	13 01 2011
Life's a big adventure at Sutton Valence Prep	Youngsters at the Preparatory School have enjoyed a lively and adventurous start to the new term, thanks to the installation of a £20,000 play facility at the Chart Sutton site.The adventure...	13 10 2010
The World's Biggest Coffee Morning	Supporters of The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning at the Preparatory School raised £500 for Macmillan Cancer Support.Parents not only baked cakes but brought in home-made produce, including...	13 10 2010
New Head joins Sutton Valence Preparatory School	Richard Johnson, new Head of the Prep School, talks about what inspired him to become a teacher and what persuaded him to join Sutton Valence. Meet the Head	31 08 2010
Celebrations at the end of a good year!	The doors are opening on a new era of development for the Preparatory School, as departing Head Mrs Jane Evans, who has steered the school through the past 12 months, including a double dose of inspec...	20 07 2010
Prep School has Toad in a spin!	Pupils at the Preparatory School ended term with a grand finale: a show-stopping production of the colourful and comic ‘Wind in the Willows.’Based on the book by Kenneth Grahame, the story...	20 07 2010
New Adventure Playground	Here are the children enjoying the new adventure playground which was open to use this week. There are several different obstacles for them to use with various different challenges. The beautiful weat...	24 05 2010
Visit by Claire's Farm	Year 1 had a lovely time meeting the animals from Claire’s Farm.	21 05 2010
Iden Croft Herbs	Year 1 had a sensational start to their topic work this term when they visited Iden Croft Herbs in Staplehurst. They looked for fairies in the walled garden and dug the raised beds ready for planting...	20 05 2010
Barnado's Toddle	Kindergarten children took part in their annual tiny toddle yesterday to raise funds for the children’s charity Barnardos. Cheered on by parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters and staff, the t...	20 05 2010
Gracie wins poster competition	Gracie Rigby (Year 5), has won a countywide poster competition on the theme ‘What will the world be like in 2100?’ judged by a Russian scientist working on the international mission to...	06 04 2010
Sutton Valence Preparatory School celebrates scholarship and 11+ successes	The Preparatory School is celebrating top-of-the-form scholarship and 11+ successes.The school achieved a 92 percent success rate in scholarship exams, with 26 places being offered at Sevenoaks School...	06 04 2010
Prep Schools Netball winners	Last week our U11 Girls Netball had a great week winning one tournament and coming fourth in the regional competition in Brighton! On Saturday 27th February they went to Wellesley where they took on...	08 03 2010
Jessica and Jackson prove their Chess Mastery	Both Jessica and Jackson Wen came second in their respective sections at the West of England Junior Chess Congress last week. They also both came first in their sections in The KJCA Grand Prix...	05 03 2010
Daniel to compete in an international competition	We are very proud to announce that Daniel Discombe will be competing for Great Britain in an international sailing championship. The competition takes place in Southern Ireland and Daniel will be sail...	22 01 2010
Lara makes the Nationals	A big congratulation to Lara Bowles who gained a place in the National Children's Orchestra this week. Lara plays several instruments and sings, but it was her playing of the violin that won her the p...	27 11 2009
Chorister Scholarship for Isaac	Congratulations to Isaac Lordon, age 7, who is one of five boys from all over Kent to have gained a scholarship to St Edmund's School, Canterbury, for September 2010.  Isaac will become one of th...	23 11 2009
Anti-bullying week focuses on Cyber-bullying	As part of anti-bullying week we are looking at dealing with bullying in PSHE. Mr. Evans is also presenting an E-safety evening to the parents.	17 11 2009
Pupils and the Wooden Horse	A group of Year 1 pupils had an adventurous introduction to the world of science and forces – with a trip to a local rocking horse works.They were given a tour of the world-famous Stevenson Brot...	26 10 2009
New Athletics Track	On Tuesday 22nd September children from Sutton Valence Prep School went to the senior school to witness the Grand Opening of the brand new 400m  Athletics Track. There was an opening speech from...	24 09 2009
More photos of the New Dining Room Opening Ceremony		13 05 2009
The chef and his apprentices	TV Chef Richard Philipps with pupils tucking into his Vanilla Pain Perdu.	11 05 2009
Richard Phillips' recipe	Pan Fried Eggy Bread with ‘Kentish’ Berries and Vanilla Ice CreamIngredientsServes 41 x loaf of Brioche (if not available a white loaf)12 strawberries12 raspberries12 blackberries50g butter25g caster...	10 05 2009
New Dining Room	The New dining room at the prep school will have its Grand Opening on Friday 8th May at 2:30pm. Richard Phillips from Celebrity Chefs has been invited to join us for the celebration and official openi...	05 05 2009
SVPS Speech Day	All pupils in Years 3 to 6 will enjoy the annual Preparatory School Speech Day on Saturday 7th July. This will be attended by the Headmaster, Joe Davies and the Chairman of Governors, Bryan Baughan.	29 06 2007
World War 2 Day	Year 6 are having a special World War 2 Day as part of their History topic this term. Ardvarc, a history/theatrical company, are providing workshops for the children involving making gas masks to bein...	11 06 2007
Richie Richardson U11 Cricket	Wednesday 6th June, 9am, Upper Cricket Ground Preparatory School 6-a-side cricket tournament. For more details contact Alan Igglesden, Master i/c Cricket, 01622 845259	01 06 2007
Year 2 Performance	Prep School Year 2 are putting on a Victorian themed performance on Wednesday 16th May at 2.30pm. Parents are invited to actively participate as an audience and join their children singing songs and d...	14 05 2007
Grandparents' Days	On two days this week over 300 grandparents were welcomed to the Preparatory School and the Senior School. On Tuesday they were taken on tours of the Prep School by their grandchildren before being t...	08 05 2007
Prep Year 5 Residential Trip	All pupils in Year 5 will be going on their first school residential this week. Year 5 are staying at Carroty Wood, near Tonbridge, to have three exciting days exploring the great outdoors and develop...	08 05 2007
Fire Education Workshops	On Thursday 3rd May, Maidstone Fire Officers will be visiting the Prep School to educate the children in Years 1 to 6 about the dangers of fire.The children will be involved in workshops to show them...	30 04 2007
Mufti Day	The proceeds from this term's Mufti Day on Friday will go to Brain Tumour UK. Alan Igglesden, Sports Hall Manager, has been an active supporter of the charity since his own diagnosis some years ago.	30 04 2007
Easter Egg Hunts	The whole school will be hunting for chocolate easter eggs on Friday, even the teachers! Children will be searching the grounds in hope of finding an easter egg, helped by the Easter Bunny we hope.	26 03 2007
Royal Artillery Visit	Wednesday 14th MarchThe Royal Artillery Presentation Team will be visiting the CCF this afternoon	12 03 2007
Prep Year 4 Concert	On Wednesday 15th March, year 4 will be presenting their musical talents in the Bates Hall at 3pm.	12 03 2007
Red Nose Day	The Prep School are holding two parties for the younger and older pupils on Friday 16th March to support the national charity appeal. Children will be able to party away, have scrumptious snacks, have...	12 03 2007
Year 3 Trip to Maidstone Museum	On Friday 9th March, Year 3 will be visiting the Maidstone museum as part of their Ancient Egyptian topic. I hope they don't meet too many mummies!	02 03 2007
Prep U11 Boys Hockey Tournament	On Wednesday 28th February, the Preparatory School will host its annual Boys Hockey Tournament at under 11 level.	25 02 2007
SVS Prep goes to No. 10 Downing Street	On Friday 2nd March, the Newspaper Team, consisting of 14 Year 6 pupils, will be heading to number 10 to visit the home of the Prime Minister. They will undergo a tour of number 11 and then go through...	25 02 2007
Astrodome at SVPS	On Wednesday 21st February, SVPS has an Astrodome being created in the Bates Hall. All of the pupils in Years1, 2 and 3 will be having a spacey session!	20 02 2007
Brian Moses visits SVPS	Friday 9th FebruaryBrian Moses is visiting the Prep School on Friday to be the abjudicator for the Poetry Competition. Pupils from Year 1 to Year 6 will be reciting poetry as part of the competition i...	04 02 2007
Minibeasts visit from Australia	Friday 9th FebruaryA company from Australia called 'Educate Me' will be visiting the Prep School on Friday to show the pupils in Reception and Year 5 some of their fascinating minibeasts.	04 02 2007
KCC & Pre-Prep Recycling Activities	Monday 29th January 2007KCC are visiting the whole school to talk to the pupils about the importance of recycling and the benefits for the environment.The Pre-Prep are then having a series of activiti...	28 01 2007
Mufti Day	Friday 2nd FebruaryThis term's Mufti Day is being held in support of the RNLI	26 01 2007
Y5 (Prep) Visit to Greenwich	Thursday 25th January and Friday 26th January.Year 5 will be investigating the River Thames as part of their Geography curriculum.	24 01 2007
Preparatory School Council	Friday 12th JanuaryMeeting of the School Council for Years 2 to 6	10 01 2007

Sutton Valence School,
Maidstone, Kent ME17 3HL
Tel: 01622 845200
Fax: 01622 844103
enquiries@svs.org.uk

Sutton Valence Preparatory School, Chart Sutton, Maidstone, Kent ME17 3RF
Tel: 01622 842117
Fax: 01622 844201
enquiries@svprep.svs.org.uk